Washington State of Confusion

I live in the state of Washington. I live in Washington State. And when it comes to capitalization, it's the state of confusion.

People have been emailing to ask when the word state is capitalized. Here is the answer:

When state comes after the state's name, it's capitalized:

Washington State
New York State

When state comes before the state's name, it is lower case, that is, not capitalized:

state of Washington
state of New York
the great state of Texas
the sunny state of California

We who live in Washington State and New York State come up against this question often. We are the only states in the U.S. that need to distinguish ourselves from other geographical entities: Washington, D.C., and New York City. Colorado State, Michigan State, and other such names do not refer to a state, but rather a college or university. (Yes, the word State is still capitalized.)

For those beyond the problems of Washington State and New York State, there are these rules too:

• State is not capitalized when it is used in place of the state name, as in "This is a new state program."
• States is capitalized when it refers to the United States.

Of course, all key words are capitalized in a heading, for example, State of Florida Employment Application.

And how about those cities? Do I live in the City of Seattle--no, it's the city of Seattle. Capitalize city only when it is part of the city's name (Kansas City, Sun City) or its creative name, for example, the Windy City (Chicago).

I hope you are now in a state of clarity.

Lynn

Comments

[Jesse]

This is great post. Not only did it make me laugh with its witty humor, it certainly did clear up a some grammatical grey areas for people.

http://www.vigorouswriting.blogspot.com/

[Alan Hedrick]

Well stated.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1279554071]

Thank you for clearing up this common problem. Have you any tips about how to explain the spelling of the name for Washington State's chief government building? (I've heard it's the "capitol building" with an "o" because it describes the shape of the dome - and the chief city of the state is called the "capital." Yes?

[Lynn]

Patricia, you are right. Only the building uses the letter "o."